


Can You Stand the Rain

by escaped_reality



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: EFA Fic Challenge 2018, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Season 3, prompt: rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 10:53:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14669610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escaped_reality/pseuds/escaped_reality
Summary: After finding out Wynonna lied about Mama Earp, Waverly feels her world come crashing down. With no one else to call, Wynonna sends a text to the only person she knows that can help Waverly pick up the pieces when her help isn't wanted.





	Can You Stand the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my entry for the EFA Fic Challenge 2018 based on the single-word prompt "Rain". The idea came to me after listening to the song "Can You Stand the Rain" by New Edition. I'm a huge sucker for angst and hurt/comfort so I hope you enjoy it!

Rain.

That’s what the water felt like as it cascaded down her skin. She closed her eyes tightly willing the tears to stop falling as they mixed with the water from above.

It’s been two days since Mama returned, two days since she realized that Wynonna has been lying to her for most of her life. Waverly tried to rationalize why she was always the last to know something so important about her family life, but she always came up empty. She thought Wynonna would be the last person to keep such vital information from her, maybe that’s why she felt so betrayed.

She bit back a sob as the feelings she once held locked away returned in full. Once again, Waverly felt like an outsider in her family. She felt alone. She closed her eyes as the water continued to stream onto her face. Waverly realized that maybe taking a shower when she was this upset wasn’t the smartest idea, but this was the only place she felt she could truly be alone with her thoughts.

As the water continued to pour over her, her thoughts became darker and darker. She reminisced of a childhood spent on the outskirts of her family. She never felt good enough, always ignored. Waverly struggled most of her childhood to be liked by the people that were supposed to love her unconditionally. She clenched her jaw hard as she fought against the thoughts entering her mind.

Unable to control herself any longer, she let out a violent sob and sank to the bottom of the tub. She held her head in her hands as her body racked with sobs. She felt out of control as the water around her continued to pour.

* * *

 

From outside the bathroom, Wynonna rested her head gently against the door. She had tears swimming in her eyes, but willed them not to fall. She knew her sister did not want to speak to her right now, so entering the room to comfort her would only make things worse. She let out a sigh before pulling out her phone and contacting the one person she knew could make this situation better.

* * *

 

Using her new key, Nicole quietly entered the homestead. She twists her fingers nervously as she tries to spot anything out of the ordinary.

“Wynonna?” Nicole stage-whispered. She looked around the room helplessly struggling to understand the text she received that had her rushing here. “Earp?” Nicole said a little louder this time.

Wynonna walked down from upstairs and pulled Nicole by the arm swiftly into the kitchen. She took a few calming breaths, but that was more than Nicole was willing to give her.

“What the hell is going on?” Nicole demanded urgently.

“It’s Waverly,” Wynonna said. Nicole tried to ignore the glossiness of Wynonna’s eyes, but she rarely saw the older Earp sister this upset. Nicole’s thoughts were running rampant, in this town a million things could have happened to her girlfriend. She was becoming more and more wound up.

“Wynonna, is she okay? You sent me a text that said ‘911 Waverly needs help’.”

“She needs you. She doesn’t need or want me right now. I just – please Nicole. Just go to her.” She broke eye contact with Nicole and looked desperately up the stairs in the direction of the bathroom.

Nicole studied Wynonna for a second more before taking the stairs two at a time. When she reached the top of the stairs she headed towards Waverly’s room, but was diverted from her path when the echo of sobs reached her ears. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest when she realized that those were the cries of her girlfriend. She took off towards the bathroom slowly. She was nervous to open the door, she didn’t know what she may find.

After turning the knob slowly she was bombarded by steam expelling from the bathroom and knew instantly that Waverly must have been in there for a while. Once the fog cleared, her eyes were directed towards the shower where the stream of water was cascading over a silhouette huddled on the shower floor.

Nicole pulled back the shower curtain gently, so as not to shock the crying woman before her.

“Waves,” Nicole whispered, shocked. She connected her gaze with the bloodshot eyes of her girlfriend and felt her heart break. Without a second thought, she stepped into the shower with her. She repositioned herself so she was sitting behind Waverly holding the petite woman snuggly in her arms as she felt the sobs wrack her body. “It’s okay, I got you.”

She gently rocked Waverly in her arms, whispering words of comfort in her ear. Warm water poured down on them from above, soaking through her clothes like rain on a stormy day.

Nicole felt tears prickle to her eyes as the sound of sobs echoed loudly throughout the bathroom. She had never seen Waverly like this, so distraught, so broken. She felt completely helpless to do anything, but rock Waverly back and forth. The water continued to splash against her skin, but it was all, but ignored when she was faced with a sobbing Waverly.

She gently angled Waverly’s body so that she was crying into Nicole’s neck. Nicole grasped Waverly’s hand tightly and began to run soothing circles over it in a continuous pattern.

Nicole closed her eyes tightly willing anything to work. She didn’t know how much time had passed as they sat there. However, little by little, Waverly’s sobs began to subside. Nicole let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and sighed in relief. Her clothes were drenched completely, but nothing besides Waverly seemed to matter right now.

“I got you, Waves,” Nicole reminded her.

“W-Why does everybody lie?” Waverly croaked out.

Nicole’s heart sank. She knew that any words of support she could offer would be dampened by the fact that she was one of those people. She took in a deep, shaky breath and squeezed Waverly tighter in her arms.

“I can only speak for myself, but I was just trying to protect you.”

Nicole fought the urge to hold Waverly tighter as she felt her tense in her arms. “I don’t need protection,” Waverly grounded out.

“I know and it’s no excuse. However, it doesn’t stop the people that love you from trying to keep you from hurting. Unfortunately, I realized too late that lying to you the way I did, probably hurt almost as much as the results of the test did. I just – In my head, for some reason, I thought that I was doing the right thing, but I was wrong.”

Waverly finally relaxed back into Nicole. Her tears starting to subside. “How did everything get so crazy?”

“I don’t know, Waves, but I’m here. I always will be.”

Waverly scrunched up her nose as she leaned farther back into Nicole, “You’re all wet.”

Nicole chuckled softly picking up Waverly’s hand, “And you, baby, are all prune-y.” She kissed Waverly’s wrinkly fingertips delicately and smiled when she saw that her upset girlfriend began to do the same.

After one last kiss to the top of Waverly’s hand, Nicole shifted awkwardly behind her, trying to stand up and remove herself from the shower. The water still cascaded around them steadily. She noticed Waverly shivering slightly and immediately moved to turn the water off. She knelt down slowly and gently wrapped a dry towel around her girlfriend.

Waverly smiled shyly as if suddenly realizing her state of undress and Nicole rolled her eyes with affection. She moved her finger under Waverly’s chin and gently lifted, so that they made eye contact.

“I can’t promise that I won’t try to protect you,” Nicole whispered. “Seeing you hurt, hurts me.” Waverly opened her mouth to interject, but Nicole quickly cut her off with a gentle kiss. “However,” Nicole paused. “I can promise that I won’t lie. If something like this comes up again, I will be honest. We will face whatever happens next together, deal?” Nicole held her hand out for Waverly to shake while giving Waverly one of her dimpled smiles.

Waverly’s eyes glanced down to Nicole’s outstretched hand, before slowly raising to connect with Nicole’s hopeful gaze. She waited a beat before throwing her arms around her girlfriend.

“Deal,” she whispered into wet, red locks. They remained entangled for a few moments, both breathing each other in. Every time something like this happened, they knew they came out stronger because of it. When Nicole felt Waverly shiver once more against her, she smirked into the girl’s long tresses before wrapping her arms tightly around her.

Waverly let out a loud squeal as Nicole picked her up and carried her bridal style out of the bath. She wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck firmly. “Don’t drop me,” Waverly said into Nicole’s ear.

“Never,” Nicole said. She wrapped her arms securely around Waverly and continued on her way to the shorter woman’s room. The towel was resting leisurely against Waverly’s skin, barely concealing her nakedness. Water trailed behind them after every step marking their path to the comfort and closeness they would find once they reached their destination.

Once inside Waverly’s room, Nicole set the petite woman gently on the edge of the bed. She used the towel to help dry her off. Waverly felt both physically and emotionally drained. Her face felt swollen after the tears finally stopped and she knew she must look like a disaster. She tried to duck her face, so Nicole wouldn’t see, but her girlfriend wouldn’t let her.

Nicole lifted her chin gently with a finger and placed a soft kiss on each of her eyes. “You are beautiful, Waverly. Always. That will never change, okay?”

Waverly nodded and began unbuttoning Nicole’s drenched top. There was nothing sexual about the acts they were performing, both just seeking the comfort of being in the other’s presence.

Once Nicole was out of her clothes and they were both dried off, they stood staring intently at one another before hearing the soft bang of the door from downstairs.

Waverly was not ready to face her sister yet. She needed time to think and fully grasp what had happened. “Can we hide out in here just for a little while?”

“Okay,” Nicole whispered gently. She shifted forward and slid her arms around Waverly’s waist. “I love you.” She planted a soft kiss to Waverly’s forehead before burying her face in the shorter woman’s neck.

Waverly’s hands reached up quickly to wrap around Nicole’s neck. The redhead held her tightly, her body molding against Waverly’s and it’s the most intimate hug either of them have ever been privy to. She reached up and ran her hands through Nicole’s hair, expelling some of her earlier tension. They stood together for a long while before Waverly whispered, “I love you too.”

She took Nicole’s hand and lead them to her bed. They both crawled under the covers and laid facing each other. Neither said a word, but they drew comfort from the fact that they were simply together. Waverly raised her hand and resumed running her fingers through Nicole’s hair.

“You aren’t going to ask me why I was crying?”

“No,” Nicole answered immediately. “You know I am here when you are ready.”

Waverly nodded before taking a deep breath and propping herself up on one elbow.

She remained silent for a few long moments. “My whole life I spent wondering why I was unwanted. Mama left when I was four, Daddy never treated me like I was one of his own. Hell, even Wynonna left. It felt like I was an outsider to my whole family. Then, Willa came back and I felt like I was pushed aside again.” Nicole watched as Waverly’s eyes glazed over with tears. She gently reached up to run her fingers through her girlfriend’s damp hair trying to ease her pain in any way she could. “Mama is back. Wynonna knew where she was this whole time.” Waverly paused to wipe angrily at her eyes. “Why am I always on the outside? Why do I consistently feel like I am never a part of this family? Why am I not good enough?”

Nicole wiped gently at the tears that fell from Waverly’s eyes as she shook her head. She understood why Waverly felt this way, but anyone with eyes could tell just how much Waverly meant to Wynonna. That woman would do absolutely anything for her little sister. “Waverly, I don’t know much about your family or the way the Earp’s work, but one thing I do know for certain is that Wynonna loves you more than anything in this world. You mean everything to her. You will always be her family.”

Waverly was stunned by the sheer determination she saw on Nicole’s face.

“No matter what any DNA test in the world says, Wynonna is your sister. I am not excusing her actions, but that crazy girl loves you more than life itself. Why do you think I’m here? She texted me in a panic and she was visibly upset downstairs no matter how much she tried to hide it. You will never be an outsider with her and you will always, always be good enough. I know you spent your whole life feeling like you had to be someone you weren’t, spent years catering and bending yourself to fit what other people thought you should be, but you don’t have to do that with her and you don’t have to do that with me. Everyone is going to mess up at some point, there is a huge learning curve.” Nicole gave Waverly a dimpled smile and chuckled to herself, she leaned forward as if telling Waverly a big secret. “I don’t know if you know this, but none of us, including Doc, Dolls and Jeremy, have had a normal family life. It’s basically a learn-as-you-go type thing. You just have to realize that when it comes down to it we will always fight for each other and support each other. I know this is a huge blow, but you are not an outsider anymore Waverly. You will always be good enough and you will always have a place here.”

Waverly gave Nicole a small smile and went to interrupt, but Nicole quickly put her finger against Waverly’s lips. “I’m not done yet.” Nicole said gently and felt Waverly nod against her hand. “You always have a place here even if you aren’t the friendliest person in Purgatory.” Waverly scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

“Huh?”

Nicole chuckled at the look on her girlfriend’s face. “Maybe I’m not making sense, but what I mean to say is that you will always have a family here. You don’t have to be anyone else, but you. We love Waverly, for Waverly. I know a part of you spent your life tailoring who you are to the people around you, but you don’t have to that with us. The people that love you, will still love you.”

Waverly’s eyes clouded with tears and she shook her head. She looked at Nicole and tried to fight the smile that was coming to her face. “How do you do that?” Waverly asked.

Nicole looked at her, confused, “do what?”

“Know exactly the right thing to say,” Waverly whispered.

Nicole smiled brightly as she leaned in to kiss Waverly, “because you are _my_ family.” 


End file.
